"In pregnancy, every conversation, every choice, every reassurance helps build the mother's confidence. This is the true essence of antenatal support."
— Ina May Gaskin
Caring for You and Your Baby
Antenatal Care
Your antenatal Schedule for a Healthy Pregnancy
Individualised Midwifery Care
Midwife-led care delivers a truly comprehensive and deeply personal approach to your antenatal journey and birth. This unique relationship, founded on trust and mutual respect, empowers expectant mothers and their partners to make confident, informed healthcare decisions.
Through dedicated one-on-one time at each antenatal appointment, your Independent Midwife will focus on your physical and emotional well-being. This enriches the entire experience for you and your partner, actively supporting a low-risk pregnancy. This thorough, individualised care ensures you don’t just navigate pregnancy, but truly thrive, deepening your experience as a woman and as a couple.
Congratulations on your Pregnancy!
First Appointment
First Trimester
1st Trimester
Choosing a Midwife
Congratulations on your pregnancy!
You’ve likely just discovered you’re pregnant, probably around 4 to 7 weeks along, often after a missed period and noticing early signs like breast tenderness, nausea, or fatigue.
Now is a good time to start choosing your Independent Midwife.
Your antenatal care will build a strong, supportive relationship with your midwife and each appointment offers dedicated one-on-one time to discuss your well-being, nutrition, lifestyle, any discomforts, and birth preferences. Your midwife will also explain all recommended tests and provide clinical assessments, ensuring holistic support throughout your pregnancy.
Antenatal Schedule:
Your Antenatal appointments in the First Trimester with your Independent Midwife will typically follow a schedule of monthly visits.
- Review Your Medical History: Your midwife will take the time to understand your health background and discuss your pregnancy journey so far. This will involve completing some necessary forms.
- Perform a Urine Analysis: Your midwife will conduct a simple urine test to screen for any abnormalities.
- Monitor Your Well-being: Your midwife will record your weight to track healthy progress for both you and your baby.
- Check Your Vital Signs: Your midwife will monitor your blood pressure and other vital data to ensure your health.
- Address Your Concerns: This is your opportunity to discuss any pregnancy-related discomforts or ask questions about your diet and overall well-being with your midwife.
- Plan Your Ongoing Care: Your midwife will discuss and schedule important upcoming appointments, including your next midwife visit, any necessary blood tests, ultrasound scans.
- Your midwife will refer you to one of the Genesis affiliated collaborating Obstetricians/Gynaecologists, with specific consultations typically around 28 weeks and 36 weeks.
- Your Independent Midwife will also review any test results already available.
Your midwife is committed to providing you with comprehensive and personalised care from the very beginning.
Week 16-28 of Pregnancy
Monthly Appointments
Second Trimester
2nd Trimester
Monthly Appointments:
You’ll receive personalised care from your Independent Midwife; your schedule and required tests will be tailored to your unique needs.
Antenatal Schedule:
During your appointments, your Independent Midwife will perform essential checks while also considering your overall well-being and your baby’s development. This comprehensive approach includes:
- Ultrasound Scan: An ultrasound scan for Down syndrome screening is performed between 12 and 16 weeks. This appointment can be scheduled here, with Maryke Kilian, the Sonographer.
- Routine Clinical Assessments: This involves urinalysis to screen for abnormalities, weighing to ensure healthy maternal and foetal growth, and consistent blood pressure and vital sign monitoring to proactively identify and prevent complications.
- Foetal Well-being Checks: Your midwife will measure your baby’s growth and assess their heartbeat to confirm their well-being and identify any concerns.
- Personalised Health Guidance: You’ll receive support in managing any minor pregnancy-related discomforts, alongside dietary advice tailored to your individual needs.
- Coordinated Care Planning: Your Independent Midwife will facilitate discussions and planning for your entire pregnancy journey, covering:
- Obstetrician referrals as needed, with specific consultations typically around 28 weeks and 36 weeks.
- Scheduling of future appointments.
- Review of upcoming and pending blood tests, and discussion of all investigation results.
- Confirmation of your 20-week anatomy scan, a key milestone for detailed foetal assessment. This appointment can be scheduled here, with Maryke Kilian, the Sonographer.
Week 28 to 36 weeks of Pregnancy
Bi-Weekly Appointments
Third trimester
3rd Trimester
Bi-Monthly Appointments:
From week 28 of your pregnancy until week 36, you’ll transition to a schedule of bi-weekly consultations (every two weeks) with your Midwife. This increased frequency allows for closer monitoring of both your well-being and the baby’s development as you progress through the later stages of pregnancy. These regular appointments provide a dedicated space to discuss any questions or concerns you may have, allowing your Midwife to offer tailored advice and support specific to this crucial period. We’ll be closely tracking your baby’s growth, position, and your overall health to ensure everything is progressing smoothly as you approach your birthing time.
Antenatal Schedule:
During your appointments, your Independent Midwife will perform essential clinical assessments while also ensuring your holistic well-being and your baby’s healthy development. This comprehensive approach typically includes:
- Routine Health Checks: Your midwife will conduct a urinalysis to screen for any issues, monitor your weight to support healthy maternal and foetal growth, and consistently check your blood pressure and other vital signs to proactively identify and prevent complications.
- Baby’s Development: Expect careful measurement of your baby’s growth and an assessment of their heartbeat to confirm their well-being and detect any concerns early.
- Personalised Support: You’ll receive compassionate guidance for managing any minor pregnancy-related discomforts, alongside tailored dietary advice.
- Coordinated Care and Planning: Your Independent Midwife will facilitate thorough discussions and planning for your entire pregnancy journey, covering:
- Obstetrician referrals as needed, with specific consultations typically around 28 weeks and 36 weeks.
- Scheduling of future appointments.
- Review of upcoming and pending blood tests, and discussion of all investigation results (including any tests done prior to your visit).
- Essential tests like a repeat Hb (haemoglobin) and a Glucose Tolerance Test (GTT) also around 32 weeks, and any other which your midwife will discuss with you.
- A comprehensive discussion about your birth plan at 36 weeks.
Week 36 to Birth
Weekly Appointments
Getting ready for birth!
Almost there!
Weekly Appointments:
Your midwife will tailor your appointment schedule to your individual needs, which may include more frequent visits if necessary. While your estimated due date is around 40 weeks, it’s more helpful to think of it as a ‘due zone’ – your baby may arrive anytime between 37 and 42 weeks.
Antenatal Schedule:
As birth nears, your weekly appointments with your Independent Midwife become a calm and reassuring space. During these one-on-one visits, your midwife will focus on your well-being and your baby’s final preparations, which typically include:
- Routine Health Checks:
- Urine analysis to screen for any abnormalities.
- Weight monitoring to support healthy maternal and foetal growth.
- Consistent blood pressure and vital sign monitoring to proactively identify and prevent complications.
- Baby’s Development:
- Careful measurement of your baby’s growth.
- Assessment of their heartbeat to confirm their well-being.
- Personalised Support:
- Compassionate addressing of any minor pregnancy-related discomforts.
- Comprehensive Birth Planning & Review:
- Discussion of OBGYN bookings.
- Confirmation of your next appointment.
- Review of upcoming blood tests, pending results, and any investigation outcomes already at hand.
- Discussion of any necessary sonar visits.
Empowering Informed Choices
Antenatal Care with a Midwife
✽ Build Trust with Your Midwife
✽ Receive Early Education + Support
✽ Start Making Informed Choices
✽ Your Beliefs Will Be Respected
✽ Family Involvement Is Encouraged
✽ Regular Health Checks
✽ Blood Tests Are Arranged
✽ Screening Tests Are Discussed
✽ Foetal Movement Is Monitored
✽ Risk Factors Are Assessed
✽ Referrals Are Made When Needed
✽ Labour And Birth Are Discussed
✽ Understand Medical Back-Up
✽ Evidence-Based Health Education
✽ Nutrition Advice Is Offered
START YOUR CARE BY CHOOSING AN INDEPENDENT MIDWIFE
FAMILY-CENTRED CARE
Providing a safe space for comprehensive maternity care, Genesis Clinic is a midwife-led birthing unit dedicated to active birth and respecting mothers' birthing choices. Services are delivered by a team of professionals that include Independent Midwives, Obstetricians, Paediatricians and Doulas.